His Counting Games
by Bradkaj
Summary: Victor has just arrived in Hong Kong for the Grand Prix Finals. As he walks from the car to the hotel, he is greeted by huge crowds. As he engages with the crowd, he counts all the things he sees. But hold up, where is Yuuri waiting for Victor? How does Victor count the ways he loves Yuuri? *I don't own the characters or story line. This is just a moment of my imagination.


I get out of the car and see the crowds. Who knew walking to the hotel could be such a production. I've just arrived in Hong Kong for the Grand Prix Final. It is kind of nice that it's close to home this time. Sometimes flying half way across the world can get a little tedious.

The cameras flash and I find myself looking in a million directions with my prize-winning smile. I would win gold medals for it too if I could. This is all routine for me. I take off my sunglasses and give all the big red heart signs a nice smooth wink and hair flip. I chuckle seeing all of them crumble and succumb to my charm. It really is interesting to see the different kinds of people who stand and wait just to watch me walk a few feet. Now that is what I call dedication.

I see all the faceless people pawing and I begin counting. Sometimes I count how my signatures I give or how many women wearing green I can take a selfie with. All counting games… There are endless number of things to count. I have been doing this for years to keep me aware of my surroundings. It was much harder before I met Yuuri. He brought purpose and sanity into my life.

"VICTOR! LOOK THIS WAY!" A camera man manages to get past security. Maybe that will be the thing I count today. How many camera men get in my way? I don't think I have counted that before, right?

Security sweeps him away like the highly efficient broom. Always clearing the path for me. Funny, years ago I had to push through the crowds myself.

All of this commotion stresses Yuuri out. He can't handle being the center of attention nor the questions. It makes it harder for him to focus and he pulls inward. He begins doubting everything to the point where you could convince him that red is the new blue. I then am guaranteed to spend the rest of the evening soothing him and reminding him of the most important truths: That I love him and am never leaving him. I don't think he has realized that I need him more than he needs me. Maybe he will never realize that, but that is okay with me.

People are pushier today and this is when all the questions start come swooping in for the intimate details of my being. Another camera man is brushed off the rug, that makes two.

"VICTOR! ARE YOU AND KATSUKI BREAKING UP? WHY ISN'T HE WITH YOU?!"

"IS IT TRUE YOU MOVED YOUR HOME RINK TO JAPAN?"

"DOES SKATING AGAINST KATSUKI HURT YOUR RELATIONSHIP?"

"HEY, VICTOR! DO YOU THINK THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST SEASON?!

My goodness, are these the things that they are worrying about? Yuuri isn't going anywhere. I would give my life for that man. Too bad for them but I'm taken, no matter how much they debate that fact in all the magazines. We have been together for a couple of years now and still going strong. I can't understand why people wait for the impossible to happen. Why not be happy for someone rather than wait for it to crumble? Now that doesn't make any sense to me.

It has been a really hard few months for us and Yuuri has barely been able to keep his head above water. They already know that Yuuri and I moved to Japan. We moved our home rink there to be closer to his family ever since his father had a stroke. To keep his mind off things and to keep him in shape, we have been practicing and working harder than we have ever worked before. I have an even harder time keeping up with him now, not that it was easy for me before.

However, I still got it and skating is something that Yuuri and I love to do together. It is where we fell in love and found our life. Even if we weren't in competition, we would still be skating. We have discussed different plans for when I retire but my body is keeping up so as far as I am concerned, I'm still in the game. Yuuri teases me sometimes about being an old man but I can still beat him.

"VICTOR! CAN YOU SIGN THIS?"

I chuckle and walk over to the little boy pushing through the legs of excited adults.

"And what is your name?" I kneel down smiling and grab his pen and paper.

"Al." Though he was brave enough to call out to me, he was shy now having me close up.

"Well it is nice to meet you Al." On the paper I wrote:

 _From Japan with love- Victor Katsuki- Nikiforov_

That should drive them crazy.

Upon seeing what I wrote on the little boy's paper, people swarm to see what I have written. Another camera man shoves forward and snaps a picture of my scribbles on the paper. That will be in the magazines and of course they will discuss and debate whether or not I meant it or am toying with them. Would it be bad if I said both? I am sure this will make my katsudon blush with happiness.

Standing next to the hotel entrance, I spin and face the crowd to give them a final wave and smile. The answer is three. Three camera men pushed forward to capture their own trophy close up of me.

I enter the hotel and wave to the front desk. I have already been checked in.

I enter the elevator by myself and press the button that will take me to the 8th floor. I leave all the fans and nosey questions. They are nothing but empty noise to fill the air of curiosity. I try to be as vague as possible to drive them all nuts, but also to protect what Yuuri and I have. The paper is my boldest move in quite a long time. Ever since the surprise kiss in the rink, Yuuri and I have kept things on the downlow. He is what I hold most dear and I am his. Nothing nor no one is going to take it away from me. Not after all of those years of emptiness and darkness.

As the elevator pulls me higher and higher, I count all the things that I love about Yuuri, one per floor.

His messy hair. No matter how much you comb it, it always looks like a bad case of bed head. I love playing with it and combing it back with gel to ready him for competition. It relaxes him and me.

His sleeping face because it is then he looks the most peaceful. It is my favorite thing to wake up too.

His shyness. He is so shy when it comes to showing me affection. This makes it a sweeter surprise when he does show affection, especially in public. It is cute, endearing and I love him all the more for it. Plus, how can I resist those red cheeks.

How he moves to the music. He is incredible and though he doesn't see it, he is mesmerizing for everyone watching him. He creates the rhythm and adds depth to the music.

The way he says "Victor". I can hear how much he loves me and how that is one of his most precious words. I am the one he calls for. I am the one he wants.

His smile. He smiles the biggest when we are skating together or playing on the beach with Makkachin. I can't help but laugh and smile when I see it. It creates a warmth that has been missing from my life and soul for years. He makes my smiles genuine.

His courage. Yuuri struggles a lot with having confidence, depression, and anxiety. Though it has gotten in the way and halted his career for a bit, he has managed to make a comeback and has become and remains one of the world's top skaters. He provides me with a challenge!

His love. He loves innocently, deeply, completely, and unconditionally. He is my best friend and love of my life. The whole world disappears and makes more sense when I am with him. Being with him and loving him gives me purpose. He fills the hole that no gold medal can fill. Trust me, I have tried and was nothing but miserable.

The elevator dings and the doors open. I step into the hallway and everything is quiet… Finally.

I walk down the hallway and the only thing I can hear are my footsteps and my rolling suitcase.

I reach the end of the hall to room 821 and give it a light knock. I don't hear anything at first but after a few seconds I hear him walk towards the door.

The door pulls open and there is my Yuuri with a bad case of bed head, droopy eyes, crooked glasses, and in one of my t-shirts. Gosh I love this man. I sent him ahead of me so that he didn't have to deal with the commotion of me arriving there too. Me coming by myself pulls the audience away from him. It is all about keeping him calm and nerves under control and it protects "us" from the media.

He does cause quite the commotion himself, so we do our best to keep his travel under wraps and mine public, so people focus and follow me instead of him.

"Oh, hey Victor, I thought you were flying in later. I guess I lost track of time. I was only going to lay down for a minute, but I guess I fell asleep." He opens the door wider for me to enter the room.

I chuckle, let go of my suit case, and pull him into a hug and kiss his cheek.

"I missed you, my Katsudon." I close my eyes and press my nose to his hair. Ah, I forgot to count one more.

I love how he smells. It is delicious and proof that he is there by my side always.

He laughs, wraps his arms around my back, and holds me tightly. He leans his head on my chest and whispers;

"Welcome home Vitya."


End file.
